Fat Birds

In a previous article, "Bob Chilcoat" said:
At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year. I
have to fill the feeder at least once a week. Some of the birds actually
look fat. Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

I hate to interject some facts into a fun discussion like this, but when
birds in cold weather look fat, it's usually just because they've fluffed
up their feathers to provide more insulation. If you watch these birds
take off or land, you'll see that for a split-second after landing (and
sometimes before take-off), you'll see them look thinner.

I wish I had a coat that I could make warmer or cooler as the conditions
dictated.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"If Bill Gates had a dime for every time a Windows box crashed...
..... Oh, wait a minute, he already does."